The following parade from Class 25 was equally creative and irresistibly cute.
Their formation resembled reagent bottles from a chemistry experiment, with the students acting as molecules rolling around inside the bottles. The adorable spectacle nearly had the students in the stands falling out of their seats with laughter.
However, compared to Class 24’s glamorous and extravagant display, Class 25’s performance didn’t quite reach the same level of excitement, and the energy in the stadium dipped slightly.
“Class 24 is really high-profile this year!”
“Aren’t they always? Their special effects are like they’re throwing money around.”
“I don’t care, next year our class has to do something this cool too. Hua Xu as Diao Chan and Tan Ming as Han Xin were just stunning.”
“Can you imagine how handsome Yuan Shao would be if he did cosplay?”
Yeah, right. Everyone mentally marked a big red “X” in their minds. Yuan Shao didn’t even participate in the parade—cosplay? In your dreams.
After Class 24 finished their parade, Zhou Xiu let out a sigh of relief.
The principal announced the official start of the sports festival, and the classes dispersed, with athletes heading to their events and the students who had participated in the parade returning to their class’s base camp.
Unexpectedly, Class 24’s base camp was overflowing with people—students flocking to take photos, give flowers, and ask for contact information blocked the entire pathway.
The students of Class 24, however, seemed immune to the beauty of Hua Xu and Tan Ming.
What they hadn’t anticipated was how stunning Zhou Xiu looked once she was all dolled up. Wow—
The boys couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.
Zhou Xiu usually didn’t wear makeup and was always in her school uniform, so no one had expected that with makeup on, her calm and composed face would make her look like a little fairy filtered through a beauty lens.
The transformation with makeup was astonishing.
Old Huang, the teacher, saw the blocked pathway, and his face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. He began scolding, “What are you all doing here?!”
“If you don’t get back to your class’s base camp, I’ll deduct your class’s conduct points if I catch you!”
The senior and junior students who were asking for contact information scattered like birds.
The sports festival was always the domain of the athletic students.
Zhou Xiu had only signed up for the girls’ long-distance run. She had been exercising on the track every afternoon, and the class’s sports committee member had spotted her and roped her into signing up.
Zhou Xiu sat in the stands, focusing on writing a press release. After completing her task, she picked up a book she had specifically brought along and started reading.
Next to her, some of her classmates from Class 24, bored out of their minds, pulled out their phones and formed teams of five to play a game.
Tan Ming glared at them, “Let me play the jungler.”
Du Feiyang glared back, “I already let you cosplay Han Xin, can’t you let me play the jungler? If you don’t let me play the jungler, I’ll throw the game.”
Du Feiyang quickly locked in his character.
Tan Ming was so frustrated that he disconnected from the game, which led to a beating from his teammates sitting right next to him.
That’s the beauty of face-to-face gaming.
Zhou Xiu, undistracted, finished reading an entire chapter of her Olympiad math material, then rested her chin in her hand as she watched her classmates play the game they had cosplayed during the opening ceremony.
She asked Hua Xu, “Is it really that fun?”
Zhou Xiu had never played games before, but when she was considering her major, she had spent some time researching. This game happened to be one of the most profitable games at the time.
Hua Xu shrugged, “It’s just a way to pass the time. Why aren’t you reading, good student? Are we too noisy?”
Zhou Xiu couldn’t understand the flashy operations on the screen, but as she squatted nearby and observed for a while, analysing the stats and equipment bars, she suddenly realized: Isn’t this just a math game?
Zhou Xiu watched with great interest for a while, then turned back to working on a math test paper.
After playing a few rounds, Hua Xu and the others started feeling guilty and, following Zhou Xiu’s lead, forced themselves to pick up their books and study.
Thus, Class 24’s base camp became a picturesque scene, with the underachievers unexpectedly pulling out their homework and getting to work. Those not doing homework were watching American TV shows.
The students from the neighbouring class found the scene odd: Whoa.
“Is Class 24 serious?”
“They actually showed the slogan ‘Study hard and make progress every day’ today. Have they lost their minds?”
Seeing that even the class that always ranked at the bottom was now determined to strive for success, the second-to-last Class 23 started questioning their own lives.
After School
The intra-school basketball tournament was in full swing. The class basketball games had started in November, and by the time of the sports festival, they had reached the semi-finals. The basketball points would also be included in the overall class score for the sports festival.
Hua Xu asked Zhou Xiu if she wanted to watch the game.
Zhou Xiu nodded, and during the semi-finals, she sat in the stands, alternating between watching the game and reading a book.
It wasn’t until the students next to her were replaced by those from the rocket class that Zhou Xiu looked up to watch the game.
To her surprise, both the rocket class and Class 24 had won their group matches and were now competing for a spot in the A-group finals.
The two classes that had just had a big argument were now meeting again on the basketball court.
The boys from Class 24 took off their jackets, tightened their shoelaces, strapped on their wristbands, and leisurely walked onto the court.
Each of them was about six feet tall, handsome, and full of youthful energy, causing the girls in the stands to cheer and scream uncontrollably.
Du Feiyang looked up at Zhou Xiu, flashing a bright smile, “Xiu Xiu, watch this—we’re going to get back at them for you!”
His voice wasn’t too loud or too soft, just loud enough for the girls from the rocket class to hear. Qi Yaguang couldn’t help but grit her teeth, “So childish!”
Hua Xu chimed in, “You guys deliberately left Xiu Xiu out—how childish can you get?”
As soon as the whistle blew, Class 24 launched an intense offensive. The boys, full of explosive energy, seemed never to tire. After a short rest, they were back on the court like recharged motors.
As soon as the rocket class scored, Class 24 quickly overtook them by five or six points. The most frustrating part was that Du Feiyang specifically targeted Xu Haobo, blocking his dunk with a powerful jump.
The entire crowd erupted in cheers.
The boys from the rocket class were fuming. Before they had fallen out with Class 24, at least they would have maintained some civility, exchanging polite gestures.
Although they always ended up losing, it was never in such a humiliating manner.
The rocket class students’ extracurricular time was filled with various schoolwork, so making it to the semi-finals was already an impressive feat worthy of praise.
They hadn’t expected to run into Class 24 in the semi-finals.
The two opposing classes clashed fiercely, and by the end, the rocket class boys were too exhausted to continue, with the score showing a gap of more than thirty points.
Du Feiyang smiled and said, “You top students should exercise more.”
“High scores without practical skills won’t do—you need to focus on all-around development!”
Xu Qing made the final free throw, and as the ball swished through the hoop, the whistle blew to signal the end of the game.
He calmly said, “And remember not to bully girls. Our boys may not have the best grades, but we really care about our girls.”
**Nomad: Ahhhhhh! I’m rooting for Xu Qing to be the male lead!!! I can’t stand Xi Shaoyuan.**
In the stands, Qi Yaguang felt her heart sink.
She couldn’t help but look up at Zhou Xiu, coldly saying, “It was my fault for forgetting to print your test paper. But why take it out on our boys?”
Zhou Xiu was momentarily taken aback, then smiled, “In any competition, there will always be winners and losers. If you care so much about winning, just work harder next time to win.”
“They were just playing to their level.”
If your skills aren’t as good, what’s there to complain about?
Zhou Xiu could tell that the boys from her class were thoroughly enjoying the game, their eyes bright with excitement, shaking off the gloom that had been hanging over them for days.
The Second Day of the Sports Festival
Zhou Xiu still had no events scheduled.
Hua Xu, who had been dancing since she was young and had excellent physical fitness, participated in several events. However, she injured her knee during the high jump. Though not serious, it meant she couldn’t participate in the remaining events.
There was a particularly important team event coming up: the 4x100m relay race, where team points were doubled.
After being humiliated by Du Feiyang yesterday with the “high scores, low abilities” comment, the rocket class saw this as their chance. Qi Yaguang couldn’t help but raise her chin as she watched Zhou Xiu coming down from the stands.
Just a moment ago, Zhou Xiu had been engrossed in her book, more intense than the students from the top classes.
“Your Zhou Xiu is the real ‘high scores, low abilities’ person, isn’t she? She hasn’t participated in a single event so far. Hua Xu must be exhausted.”
“Look at Lu Lingshan—not only does she ace her exams, but she also places in multiple events.”
The girls felt a pang of regret. Hua Xu was their secret weapon, scheduled to run the final leg of the relay. Without her, the outcome of the race seemed uncertain.
Unfortunately, the rocket class girls were no slouches in sports either.
Just yesterday, the boys from Class 24 had thoroughly defeated the rocket class boys on the basketball court, and now the girls from Class 24 were about to have their faces handed back to them by the rocket class girls.
Karma came too quickly—don’t get too cocky.
The girls of Class 24: “…”
Zhou Xiu slowly approached the group, calmly saying, “Not at all. It’s just that our class has so much talent that there wasn’t room for me to take a spot.”
“I’ll take Hua Xu’s place in the next race—just wait.” After sending Hua Xu to the medical room, Zhou Xiu went to the registration desk, took her student ID, and officially replaced Hua Xu in the relay race.
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